Fullmetal Alchemist: A Closed-Case Reopened
by Deltagama
Summary: It has been two years since the tragic death of Nina Tucker. Caught off-guard by a fateful encounter with a mysterious chimera, Edward and Alphonse Elric gain a startling revelation. With the humunculi lurking around every corner, the brothers must find what is truth...and what is a trap. Genres subject to change.
1. Monsters and Mysteries

_This is an idea that has been on my mind for a long time...The chase scene was inspired by the Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Opening #1 "Again"_

 _Fullmetal Alchemist and its characters belong to their proper owners._

 _This story and the mysterious chimera belong to me._

 _…Please enjoy my first published fanfiction._

*Chapter 1*

Monsters and Mysteries

"AL! HURRY UP! WE'RE LOSING IT!" 

What had once been a quiet afternoon in Central City turned chaotic, citizens and store-owners alike dodged frantically off the crowded walkways to avoid being slammed into, some cursing at the individuals responsible for their misfortune but most screaming instead. 

In the midst of the parting crowd, a white humanoid creature, with red fur going down the length of its spine, rushed past on all-fours, followed close behind by a young man with blonde, braided hair and a long red coat. Heavy footfalls and a clanking of metal signaled the coming of a second pursuer, a person much taller than the blonde teen and donning a complete suit of gunmetal-gray armor. 

"I'M TRYING, ED!" shouted a small boy's voice from within the giant metal suit, "THIS SUIT IS NOT BUILT FOR SPEED!" 

The young man risked a moment's glance back at his armored ally, his younger brother, before refocusing his attention on the creature. Edward Elric, famed alchemist and something of a hero in the capital city, had seen a lot of crazy things in his life, most of them were enough to drive anyone else mad. But neither he nor his brother, Alphonse Elric, had been expecting what they saw today.

The two brothers had been walking around the capital of Amestris earlier that day, reflecting on a case they had been working on that had a connection to an object they had been searching for, a legendary substance known as the philosopher's stone. 

Apparently, citizen reports had been coming in about sightings within the city of two individuals whose descriptions matched two particular homunculi the brothers had crossed paths with before, Lust and Gluttony. 

"It can't be a coincidence," uttered Edward, holding his chin in one hand while deep in thought, "After fighting with Greed and Envy a little more than a week ago, and Bradley making that announcement to the squadron a few days back…" 

"Brother, I don't think we should talk about this out here," came Alphonse' voice from inside the walking suit of armor, which was holding its hands up slightly as if the boy within was afraid something would come out from nowhere and bite him, "Some of that information is top secret…and Colonel Mustang said that Envy could be anywhere in the city." 

"I wasn't going to say everything," Ed replied in exasperation. He then stretched up his arms and crossed them behind his head, "Talking out loud just helps me think." 

"We still need to be careful…" mumbled Alphonse quietly, not wanting to upset his brother. 

A large grumble stopped the brothers short of any further conversation on that subject. Edward gave an embarrassed smile when the armored titan turned its head to look at down at him with the eerie lights in the helmet's eyes. 

"You skipped breakfast again, didn't you, Brother," stated Alphonse in a flat tone, more of a statement than a question. 

Edward's smile dropped to a hard grimace, and he crossed his arms, "I didn't have the time! Hughes had me running errands all morning." 

The suit didn't move. Ed could almost swear he saw those lights in the armor's eyes narrow. 

"Okay, okay," sighed Edward reluctantly, rolling his eyes and turning slightly away, "Maybe I did forget. I'll just grab something to eat for lunch down at the market to make up for it." The lights in the eyes of the helmet disappeared, as if Al had closed his eyes, and the armor slowly shook its helmet. 

"You need to stop doing this, Brother," the armor seemed to sigh, the boy within speaking in a slightly worried tone, "I know things have been hard lately, but you need to keep your strength up. I'd hate to see you hunted down by Winry again because you aren't taking care of yourself." 

The young man went rigid at the thought, "I'm still recovering from the last time she clocked me with her wrench," he shivered at the memory, "Seriously, if she wasn't so set on being a mechanic, she could probably win this whole confrontation single-handedly with ease." 

Alphonse let out a small giggle at the thought of the homunculi running in terror from Winry, the blonde mechanic waving a giant wrench in their direction. The two soon enter the market place. 

Over by a fruit stand nearby, a petite figure in a brown hood and cloak was inspecting a pear in one sleeve-covered hand. Edward noticed the person as the cloaked head lifted up slightly in the direction of the owner of the stand, who was looking down at the shady character with great suspicion. 

Edward was in mutual agreement, finding it strange for anyone in their right mind to casually wear a full cloak and hood at noon in the middle of May. He watched the interaction from a short distance away, sensing trouble. 

"How much for five of these?" asked the cloaked individual with the voice of a young woman, lifting the held pear slightly for the store owner to see. 

Stunned by the honest question, the man in charge of the booth stood there in silence for a few moments, having expected something completely different. He shook his head and answered in a gruff tone, "You can have them for one-thousand cenz (About $10.00)." 

The apparently cloaked woman further stunned the store owner, and Edward, by lifting the other sleeve-covered hand and setting the exact amount of currency onto the wooden counter in front of the man. 

"Will this be enough?" the woman asked, sounding concerned. 

"Y-Yes….Yes, it will do," the store owner managed to say, collecting the payment slowly. It was as if the man was still trying to understand why an obvious-looking thief wasn't stealing from his booth. He sighed, seeing that he didn't have to worry about the unusual situation anymore, and gave the cloaked woman a hesitant smile. "A pleasure doing business with you, ma'am," he said with a short wave of his hand. 

The cloaked woman nodded once in farewell, and began walking away, heading across the street. 

A leather hand landed on Edward's shoulder, "Hey, Brother, are you alright?" 

"Hm?" Edward snapped out of his observational trance, looking back at his armored brother. 

"You tensed up," explained Alphonse, seeing his brother's confusion, "Is something wrong?" 

"The cloaked woman by the fruit stand," answered Edward, giving a small sigh "I guess this whole business with the homunculi has set me a bit on-edge." 

"You just need to eat something," reassured Alphonse, giving his brother's shoulder a gentle pat, "C'mon. Mrs. Hughes told me of a great place you cou-" " **HEY! Watch where you're goin', creep!"**

The brothers turned around just in time to see a group of four men surrounding the cloaked woman, workers by the looks of their attire and the crates they had been transporting in an old pick-up truck. 

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get in your way," uttered the woman fearfully, her cloaked head looking around at each of the men, yet never lifting high enough for the sun to penetrate the shadows over the woman's face. Sensing that this could get out of hand very quickly, Edward and Alphonse started walking towards the workers. 

"If you're so **sorry** , you'll **take off** that **stupid hood** , and **watch** **where** the **heck YOU'RE GOING**!" yelled a red-faced man, roughly pushing the cloaked woman down and causing her hood to fall off her head as she hit the ground. 

Instantly, the four men seemed to freeze in place, as if time had suddenly stopped. 

Edward could only stare in shock, Alphonse giving a faint gasp beside him. 

What should have been a woman's face was more like something out of a nightmare. The face was white as pure snow, and completely devoid of any features save for two large, glowing yellow orbs where eyes should have been. A large horn curved upward from the forehead, and two long, snake-like tentacles came out the back of its head behind where ears should have been. A messy mane of blood red hair covered the top of its head and went down the back of its elongated neck. 

_A chimera?!_ Edward's thoughts exclaimed, his eyes fixed on the still form in front of him. With a shiver, the newly identified chimera started to get up onto its knees, seemingly stunned by its fall. 

There was a sudden scream from the surrounding crowd in reaction to the creature's movement, bringing everyone from their stupor like a spell being broken. The chimera brought a sleeved hand to its head, stiffening upon realizing that its hood had fallen, and quickly got to its feet as people began to panic. Completely forgetting the bag of pears in its own panic, it ran off. 

For a moment, Edward couldn't move. The face of the chimera brought back painful memories….ones he would have rather forgotten. Its face looked so familiar. 

A jolt suddenly ran through Edward's thoughts. 

…The chimera had spoken fluent English. The last time that happened…the last time he had seen a talking chimera… 

"Looks like lunch has to wait, Alphonse! We have to catch that chimera!" shouted Edward, coming out of his thoughts at a full sprint. 

Alphonse, having figured out the same thing, rushed after him...albeit hesitantly, having glanced down at the bag of pears for a moment. 

Edward chased after the chimera as fast as his legs could carry him, dodging civilians while trying not to lose sight of the creature's glossy red mane. 

_I can't use my alchemy! Too many people around to risk someone getting hurt!_ thought Edward, a curse muttered under his breath. His luck suddenly seemed to change as the chimera turned and cut through an alley. 

"Gotcha!" Edward clasped his hands together before slamming them into the walkway. A tremor shook through the ground, and the walls of the buildings on either side of the alleyway suddenly seemed to come alive as they moved to merge together to block the chimera's escape. 

The chimera gained a burst of speed, leaping for the opening and making it through just before the alley way sealed off behind it, leaving a stunned Edward on the other side. 

It stood from its crouch to start running again, but stopped short and fell to the ground. A dull sound, like a muffled groan, emanated from its throat. Lifting itself up to look behind, the chimera found that part of its cloak was embedded in the newly formed wall. It gave a muffled growl, got to its feet, and started tugging hard on the cloak, trying to get free. It suddenly heard something from above, and stopped to listen. 

Footsteps….someone was approaching from the rooftops. The chimera tugged even harder on its cloak. 

Edward leaped down from atop one of the two-story buildings framing the alleyway, breaking his fall with a roll as he hit the ground. Looking around for the chimera, he saw a large piece of cloth on the ground in front of him, with part of it embedded in the wall he had made. Realizing that it was the chimera's hood and cloak, he turned his head just in time to see a snow-white limb disappear out of the alleyway. 

Cursing under his breath, he took off again in pursuit. Alphonse jumped down from the roof to land in the exact same spot just as Edward left the alleyway. The armor glanced down at the cloak, the back at where his brother had gone. 

Edward soon heard the tell-tale signs of his brother following swiftly behind him as the two ran after the chimera through the bustling streets of Central City. The creature's strange form was now fully exposed without its cover as it galloped, almost gracefully, on all-fours swiftly from the brothers. 

"AL! HURRY UP! WE'RE LOSING IT!" 

"I'M TRYING, ED! THIS SUIT IS NOT BUILT FOR SPEED!" 

"IF IT WEREN'T FOR ALL THESE PEOPLE, I COULD USE MY ALCHEMY TO TRAP IT!" 

"THAT NEVER STOPPED YOU BEFORE! ESPECIALLY WITH SCAR!" 

"DO **NOT** BRING UP THAT CREEP'S NAME RIGHT NOW!" 

The chimera ran passed startled civilians, weaving through the crowds with cat-like agility. Still chasing the creature, Ed gave a small smirk. Even with its maneuvering abilities, the growing crowds were significantly slowing it down. If this kept up, they would catch the chimera in no time. 

Seeming to read his thoughts, the creature jumped onto the side of a building by the road, using its long-fingered claws and talon-like feet for grip as it scaled the wall even while running the building's length to keep up momentum. 

Edward's jaw dropped in shock upon seeing this. At this rate, if the brothers didn't think fast, they would run out of stamina and the creature would get away before they could tire it out instead. 

"OH, **FORGET** THIS!" Edward shouted in frustration, clapping his hands together in front of him before slamming them into the wall. A pulse of energy shot through the bricks, a pillar exploding out of the side of the building right where the chimera was headed. Happening too fast for it to react, the creature collided with the pillar head on at full speed. 

Many bystanders, even Al, couldn't help but wince as the chimera hit the pillar, cracking it. Having lost all momentum, the creature fell from the wall, landing in a cloud of wood chips and splinters from impact with some crates that had been stacked by said wall. 

Edward slid to a skidding halt a few feet from the settling debris cloud, Alphonse coming to a stop beside him, both brothers poised ready for a confrontation with a possibly dangerous being. 

"Aright," called Ed warily, "We have you surrounded. Come out slowly." 

"We don't want to hurt you," added Alphonse, his voice radiating child-like concern. Planks of wood started to shift as the form underneath slowly lifted itself out. The two brothers stiffened in their fighting stances, preparing for any hostile retaliation. A red-furred back was revealed by the shifting wood. 

Soon Edward, Alphonse, and many bystanders get a clear look at the humanoid chimera as it hesitantly turned its head to regard them. 

The hauntingly white face stared at them with the bright, practically glowing yellow circles that Edward now assumed were its eyes. It had no mouth, no nose, and no expression at all, as if its 'face' was frozen like that. Edward felt a shiver as he made eye-contact, opting to look elsewhere for fear of being hypnotically paralyzed. 

He noticed that scratches covered its face and forehead horn, most likely from running into his pillar. He was actually surprised that the horn wasn't in worse shape, seeing how it curved upward from underneath the red hair of its mane that draped over its forehead. 

_How could it take such a hit with so few scratches?_ Ed wondered, his face slightly pale _, And how could it talk with no mouth?_

Slight movement attracted his attention to the two long, snake-like tentacles that sprouted out the back of its head, behind where ears should have been but didn't seem to exist. The strange appendages moved with a slow, flowing smoothness, the tips curling and uncurling like that of a cat's tail. They were far longer than he first thought, slightly longer than he believed the creature could stand at its full height. But that was hard to gauge since it was currently slouching, its long neck bowed with the weight of its own head….or was that a submissive stance? 

The thick mane of blood red, glossy fur ran the length of its entire spine, covering its back and spilling slightly over its body, which was abnormally long and thin, as if it hadn't eaten in months. Yet there was a strange sense of grace and power in its movements, no sign of fatigue or weakness at all. 

This puzzled Ed even as he observed the chimera further. Three deep red slits sat above where its heart would have been if it was human, one vertical and the other two branching off of it. They consistently enlarged and contracted with the expanding and contracting of its ribbed chest, almost as if they were what it breathed through in place of a mouth and nose it did not have. Long, thin arms ended in elongated human hands, tipped with razor-sharp fingers. Red feathers long and short decorated the backs of its lower arms. 

Its lower half revealed nothing of its gender, almost as if it was a person in a suit, and its abnormally long legs appeared to be the most human feature about this chimera. This stopped at its elongated ankles, which didn't touch the ground until the balls of its three-clawed feet. The outer two claws of each foot were small, short, and thick. The middle toe, if it was even a toe, curled backwards like a reverse-raptor's foot. Scratches and small, bleeding cuts covered its otherwise snow-white skin. 

Edward's observations happened within the few seconds that it took for the chimera to fully face them. 

_What kind of hideous combination of madness made this poor soul?_ He thought grimly. A scream from the crowd once again brought everyone back to reality. 

The distinct clicking sound of a hand-gun being primed was the only warning before several policemen on the sidelines opened fire at what they saw as a dangerous threat to civilians. Still slightly disoriented, the chimera dodged most of the fatal projectiles. A growl of pain was heard within its throat as one bullet went through its upper left arm and another barely missed its left side. 

"NO! STOP IT!" cried Alphonse in horror, turning and holding his arms out to block a few shots with his suit of armor. 

"Stop shooting, you IDIOTS!" roared Edward, forced to jump behind Alphonse to shield himself from stray bullets. The police reluctantly stopped, their guns still aimed at the chimera. Taking advantage of the halt in their fire, it made a run for it. 

"You scared it off!" an enraged Edward exclaimed. Not wanting to waste anymore time, he chased after the chimera once more, a stream of curses under his breath, with Alphonse right on his heels. 

The creature's gallop was slower now due to its injured limb, but that didn't stop it from making a desperate effort to escape the brothers. Alphonse noticed large drops of blood on the ground with a gasp, "Brother, its hurt! Badly!" 

_Those fools must have hit an artery for it to lose so much blood,_ realized Edward after seeing the chimera's left arm become covered in crimson, _It will die if it doesn't get treated soon._

Memories of Nina flashed before his eyes. Once a human girl, and like a little sister to the brothers, she had been merged with the family dog, Alexander, and turned into a chimera by her own father, who had been driven into a maddened desperation to create a talking chimera for fear of losing his job. 

It had torn Ed and Al apart seeing her in such a state, physically and mentally. She had been broken, all because her dad only cared about keeping his State Alchemist certification. But it was only made worse when they learned that Nina had been murdered. The event had traumatized the brothers deeply, and haunted their dreams many nights. They couldn't let it happen again. They would not let history repeat itself. 

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Edward made a tough decision, "So much for being careful." 

With a series of alchemic claps, Ed made several obstacles in the chimera's path. The sudden appearance of a wall blocked off the chimera's way down one street, making it turn sharply down another street, only to have several pillars shoot out of the ground that made the creature run down yet another. Pedestrians and motorists scattered wildly in alarm at the sudden chaos, running away to avoid injury. 

A deep hole in the ground swiftly opened wide in front of the creature, the blonde alchemist's attempt to slow it down. Not missing a beat, it made a leap for a street light above the road, jumping from one to another to by-pass the hole before jumping down again. Because of its injuries, it buckled upon landing, but forced itself to its feet to once again attempt its escape. With a swift activation of alchemy, Ed closed the hole back up before he and Al reached where it had once been. 

The three quickly found themselves running down a narrow roadway near Central City headquarters, the chimera beginning to waver in its run. Knowing that it could not last much longer before passing out, Edward clapped his hands together once more, then slammed them into the ground. The energy surged through the road, under the chimera, and erupted into a large wall in front of it, blocking its exit. 

"Brother, you did it!" exclaimed Alphonse in relieved joy. Ed nodded, panting, "Yeah, now we just have to get it back to HQ, and patch it up before questioning." 

Their relief turned to astonishment as the chimera leaped, rebounded off the wall, and suddenly charged straight at them, horn lowered and eyes brighter than before. 

Alphonse backed away, intimidated by the action, "B-Brother!" 

Uttering a curse, Edward tried to activate his ability before the chimera rammed him. But just before it pierced him with its horn, it surprised both brothers again by leaping clear over Ed. Alphonse backed away even more, so much that the armor accidentally tripped and fell onto his back as the creature landed harshly beside him. At the same time, Edward slammed the ground with his hands before he could stop himself. 

A surge of misfired energy coursed into the buildings on either side of the road, and both erupted into several long pillars of various sizes in front of and above the creature, blocking its way. But because the energy wasn't stabilized in its execution, the pillars were unstable and the buildings of their origin were too weak to stay upright. 

Edward realized this too late, watching in horror as much of the two buildings collapsed on top of the chimera and his brother in a cloud of rubble and debris. 

" **ALPHONSE!"**


	2. Between a Rock and a Hard Place

*Chapter 2*

Between a Rock and a Hard Place 

It was dark…..very dark. 

That was Alphonse' first observation through the eyes of the suit after the rubble had fallen on him. He didn't really like the dark. It reminded him too much of things he would rather have left forgotten, like how his body was just a hollow shell, his dark prison, until his real body could be restored. 

He shook his head to rid these thoughts from his mind…..or he would have, if his helmet was still attached to his armor. 

He let out a small gasp. His helmet was gone, which meant his seal, the only thing keeping him in the suit and keeping him 'alive', was completely exposed. His armor rattled in a shiver. 

"W-Well, at least it didn't get damaged…." he uttered softly in a wavering voice, trying to calm himself down. 

There was a sudden disturbance within the darkness to his left after he spoke, and the appearance of two glowing yellow orbs near him made him freeze in place. 

_The chimera! The chimera is in here with me!_ Alphonse began to panic in fear. He tried to get to his feet, but found that the armor's legs were pinned under a large slab of rubble. The orbs came closer, the chimera approaching him steadily. Unable to stand and defend himself, terror gripped Alphonse as the orbs hovered above him. He gave a small whimper, wondering what the chimera was going to do to him. 

Something gently took hold of his hand, giving a reassuring squeeze, as if to comfort him. Even though he couldn't feel it, he could somehow sense it. 

"Wh-Wha…?" Alphonse was taken completely off-guard. The chimera was trying to help him calm down?! It must have heard how scared he was, but why would it care? Why would it be so nice to him after what had happened? 

He heard a muffled cooing sound, and sensed a stroking sensation on the suit's shoulder. As weird as it seemed, the soft gestures were soothing his mind, winding him down from his panic. The armor stopped rattling, something he didn't know it had been doing, and settled into the strange being's act of kindness. 

A sudden touch to his seal caused the panic to swiftly return, and he let out a cry in fear, trying in vain to get away. 

" _Shh…"_ cooed a soft voice in his mind, _"It's alright, young one. I won't hurt you."_ It was the same female voice he heard the chimera use before this whole fiasco began. 

"W-Who are you?" Alphonse trembled, "How are you doing that?" 

" _So you can hear me. That must mean I can contact you through your seal,"_ he heard the reply, _"To answer your question, I have the ability to mentally 'speak' through physical contact of my head-tails….I wanted to know if you were alright."_

"I...I think so. P-Please be careful..." he warned her, assuming that the chimera was a female, "That's the only thing keeping me here... A-Anyway, I've been through a lot worse than this." 

_"Oh...I am so sorry,"_ he heard concern in the voice. The touch to his seal carefully lifted away, then he felt a slight nudge at the edge of it, _"Is this better?"_

"Yes, thank you," the armor quivered in slight relief. At least the edge was safer than the center. Al knew that from a rather terrifying past experience with Gluttony. "Sorry for not getting up...seems I'm stuck..." 

The yellow orbs slowly turned to the side, looking away from Alphonse. _"As selfish as this desire is..."_ the chimera finally said, _"I am glad you are stuck at the moment."_ Her eyes snapped back in his direction, _"Why were you chasing me, if not to kill me?"_

Alphonse was silent for a time, remembering Nina. 

"You're...a chimera right? One that can speak?" he didn't wait for her to answer as he continued, "...the only chimera that my brother and I knew that could speak was..." a harsh shiver rippled through the armor, making a rattling noise, "...she was a friend. A child...Her father merged her with the family dog to make a chimera that could speak...We never thought that something like that would happen...We tried to help her but...she ran away from us...and..." 

A sound like sobbing came from the armor. The chimera waited in silence, holding his leather hand. 

"...S-She was killed by someone. W-We were too late to save her..." the armor continued through its soft sobs, "We just...w-we wanted to know...was there some way at all to help her? C-Could we have saved Nina from the pain?" 

He felt the chimera go stiff. _"Nina?...You...know Nina and Alexander?"_ her voice was very soft and wary. 

"We...We knew them..." Alphonse's voice faltered as he thought back, "I would play with her and Alexander while Ed studied, o-or tried to. H-How did you know them?" 

The chimera was very quiet for a long time. In the silence, Alphonse could hear her labored breathing, undoubtedly because of the pain in her arm and side. How much blood had she lost? How much longer could she go on with such wounds? The creature's grip on his hand suddenly tightened, making him focus on her. 

_"Promise me you will tell no one, lest it reach the wrong ears..."_ uttered the chimera sternly, almost protectively. Alphonse swore he could almost hear her growl the words out loud. 

"A-As long as you tell no one about what I am…...but miss, y-your wounds…" he shifted as best he could, trying to see her better in the darkness. He didn't want her dying too, secret or no. But it was no use, and he went back down again, "Well….darn..." 

The chimera let out a puff of air through her breathing holes, like she was giving a huff, _"Don't worry about me. Like you stated for yourself, I have endured far worse...But unless you can lift half a support structure with your ankles, you aren't going anywhere anytime soon, dear."_

She then set a long-fingered hand on the suit's chest area, patting it, _"As for your secret...I will not tell anyone you do not permit me to tell...so long as you keep my secret."_

Settling the hand on his chest for balance, the chimera leaned her head in close to where Al's face would be, her glowing eyes now close enough that his metal reflected the dim yellow light onto her expressionless face.

 _"Your friend isn't dead."_

The suit froze, unable to understand, his mind racing.

' _Nina is alive? But how? What we saw…That isn't possible..._ ' the boy in the suit tried to find his voice, "W-What do you...?"

 _"Ever heard of a magic trick? An illusion of sorts?"_ asked the chimera. She hesitated for a moment before beginning her explanation, _"I was on the rooftops that day when I saw her, Nina, as she was escaping…and knew I had to help her disappear, lest she be hunted endlessly by the government or someone else...Then I saw a man nearby, known around here by 'Scar', and I figured out the perfect vanishing act."_

He heard her let out a tired sigh, _"I had only one shot, and one unknowing accomplice...I cannot tell you all that I did, but what Scar killed wasn't Nina, or else it would not have exploded like it did, leaving no evidence that it was a large and very old dog. The seed of my trick planted, I hid Nina and took her and Alexander under my care...In fact, those pears I lost during our little fiasco were for pies we were going to make today."_

Alphonse was silent, in shock as he thought it all over. It made some sense, but he would only truly believe it if he saw her with his own eyes...How could they not have checked? Now that he thought about it...they should've. But all the horror that day made both him and Ed a little unstable, and would have probably made no difference at the time. 

"...If y-you are telling the t-truth…and if…..When…we ever get out of here….Tell h-her…." His voice wavered, "T-Tell her that her big brothers are sorry that they couldn't stop her father from hurting her. C-Can you tell her that for me? I know you'll have to run again from whoever gets us out…I won't chase you. And...I'll try to stop Edward from following too. But Brother's very stubborn." A sniffle was heard from within the armor. 

_"You care very deeply for Nina..."_ observed the chimera, pulling her face away and her eyes looking off to the side. Alphonse could faintly see her now in the darkness. 

Her pose was one of thought, with one hand still on his chest, and the other resting in his hand as she crouched beside him. She lowered her head, letting out a sigh from her chest before turning her eyes back to him. 

_"This is going against my better judgement...But I think that you have grieved enough for one who still lives….and I sense that I can trust you. Would you like to see her, so you can tell her yourself?"_

Alphonse thought it over. They had been tricked so often...but this hope, he couldn't just turn away from it. "...O-Of course, but my brother, he has a right to know as well. He was the one who realized the truth. He freed her from Tucker as much as I did. He made her a promise after all. She would want to see both of us." 

The armor jumped upon hearing the chimera growl again, the sound a kin to the warning of a mother bear, _"Can your brother keep all of this, her escape, her continued existence, everything I reveal a secret, no matter what?"_

Alphonse gave a half-hearted laugh, "Heh. he's kept me and thousands of other things secret for years..." he tried to nod, but then remembered that his helmet wasn't there, "Yeah, Ed would keep a million secrets to keep Nina safe," his voice became solemn, "She's family. If we don't keep her safe, who will? We promised..." the suit fell quiet. 

The chimera nodded, _"Alrig-"_

A sound of moving rubble drew their attention upward. Alphonse felt the chimera tense beside him. 

She quickly looked back at him, _"Alright. Meet me during tomorrow's late afternoon at the north gate of the city. But if I see anyone else besides you and your brother, I will not show up."_

The chimera backed away, carefully removing the tip of her right head-tail from the edge of his seal. He noticed in the dim light that the other head-tail was acting as a tourniquet for her shot arm to stem the bleeding. With embarrassment, he then remembered his own predicament. 

"Can you hand me my head please?" he asked her, not wanting anyone else to see his true self, "I feel very exposed without it." 

The chimera nodded, and walked over to his dirt covered helmet a couple feet away within the cavity Alphonse now saw that the two were trapped within. Using her arm feathers, she brushed it off before bringing it over and gently setting it back into place on the suit of armor. 

She gave the helmet a gentle stroke with her clawed fingers in in a silent farewell before backing away, crouching down to prepare to escape at the first opportunity. 

As Al made sure his helmet was on straight, he wondered if the chimera could hide inside of his armor. But at the angle he was at, it would've been impossible to even get her in. His chest plate was pinned between him and the rubble, and the only available opening was where his helmet met his armor. Still, she had a very thin figure, almost impossibly so. If she was flexible enough, it could be worth a shot. There was no telling what Edward would do if he saw the chimera run off, let alone what Colonel Mustang or the others would do if they were there helping to dig him out. He dreaded even thinking about it. 

"Hang on...I have a better idea." he removed his head once more and held onto it, "Here, try to climb in. You and I both know that you won't make it if the state alchemists find you trying to escape. I can get you past them but you have to trust me and stay quiet. Please..." he pleaded. 

The chimera watched him for a moment, looking a little wary of him. Letting out a deep sigh through her chest slits, she re-approached him, leaning down to inspect the large hollow shell of Alphonse' metallic form. She let out a sound that Al could only describe as a squeak, seeing a lumpy bag and a large pile of cloth, her pears and her cloak. She looked at the seal, seemingly in surprise from how stiff her head-tails had become. 

"Well I was gonna give them to you after you stopped running," he gave a small laugh, the shoulders of the great suit of armor rattling, "Now hurry, they're almost through. Just be careful of that seal." 

Now a bit more confident, the chimera slipped into his armor, barely missing the seal as she folded and bent herself to fit through the small opening. 

Once inside, she bent over and shifted into the correct position of practically wearing the armor, giving a muffled hum to tell him that she was in place. Her body then let itself go limp, giving him little to no restrictions with his movement. Alphonse realized with guilt that she was very tired from the chase and her injuries, deciding to rest while inside him. 

Alphonse put his head back on and shifted to look up as the rocks were moved aside, "Hello?" 

"Over here!" shouted the commanding voice of Colonel Mustang, "Armstrong! Give me a hand!" 

"Most certainly, Sir." Alphonse could have sworn he heard sparkles when the body-builder of a man spoke. Dirt and debris started falling onto his armor, streams of light piercing the darkness. 

"Alphonse!" called Mustang, trying to locate him, "Can you hear me?" 

"AL!" came Edward's voice, "Are you okay?!" 

"Ed!" Al called back, trying in vain to move, eager to get out, "I'm stuck! I can't move until my legs are freed!" 

"What about the chimera?" Mustang asked, trying to keep Al talking so they could find him quickly, "Is it in there with you?" 

"No," Al made sure he was quick to respond, he hated lying but he'd had a lot of practice with watching his brother, "I didn't see where it went." 

He was suddenly blinded by light as a tall, strong man with a yellow mustache and squinted baby-blue eyes lifted the rock that was just above him. 

"Ah, there you are, young Elric," said Armstrong, his prideful voice sounding greatly relieved. 

"Al!" Edward's face showed up, his figure greatly dwarfed by the huge man, "Don't scare me like that! I almost had a heart attack because of you!" 

"Scold him later," came Mustang's voice from off to the side, "First we have to get him out so we can clear the debris." 

"It's not my fault the building fell..." Alphonse muttered, although he was happy to see his brother again, "Sorry Ed..."

Edward gave a tired smile, "You're okay, that's all that matters to me, Al." 

Armstrong soon had most of the debris over Alphonse legs removed, leaving only a large support beam with a connected concrete anchor left. 

Using his trademark flame alchemy, Mustang melted the metal beam into two, more manageable, sections. After that, Armstrong lifted one side away with ease, while Hughes, Havoc, Fuery, Breda, Hawkeye, and Edward tried to lift the other. 

Havoc glared at Mustang, "You know, this be a lot easier if you helped out, **Sir**." 

"Someone has to stay by Alphonse to make sure he doesn't get crushed while you move the beam," answered the black-haired man nonchalantly. 

"Why can't Edward do it?" Havoc continued in utter disbelief, "He would be more useful doing that instead of lifting this since he is so shor-" "FINISH THAT, AND I WILL BEAT YOU WITH THIS SUPPORT BEAM, HAVOC!" shouted Ed, rage practically seen dancing off him like fire. 

Mustang sighed, shaking his head as he watched this turn of events, while Alphonse felt the chimera shiver within him upon hearing his brother's fierce tone. Seeing such a normal scene before him after all that had just happened made the suit want to laugh, but knew that would only make his brother angrier. 

"Ed, please!" Alphonse barely held down a giggle as he tried to calm his brother while he was freed, "Now isn't the time!" Edward glared at his brother, then gave Havoc one more deadly look before releasing a huff and got back to work. 

"You better thank Alphonse greatly for saving your hide, Havoc," uttered Hawkeye, to which Havoc rolled his eyes. 

Once able to move again, the armor got to his feet, smaller pieces of debris falling from his metal body. Wasting no time, Alphonse went to help his brother and the others move the heavy beam to a safer place out of the way for the time being. Truth be told, he was concerned that Edward might get crushed by it if he didn't help, but he would never say that out loud for his brother's sake. 

"Thanks, everyone," said Alphonse after the group set the pillar down, "I thought I was going to be stuck down there forever." 

"It was no trouble, young Elric," answered Armstrong as he came over to join the group alongside Mustang. 

Hughes nodded, adjusting his glasses, "Yeah, like the saying goes, 'A friend in need is a friend indeed' ." 

"Now that Alphonse is safe, what happened to the chimera?" asked Mustang, "Edward saw it get caught in the rubble with Alphonse, but no one has seen it since. All the evidence we have of it being here are bloodstains, but no body." 

"Sir, if I may," Fuery piped up, "In the past, when we faced such things, they have had the uncanny ability to slip away unnoticed. Perhaps the creature did just that while we were so focused on recovering Alphonse. There is a lot of rubble, sir." 

"You are probably right," answers Mustang. 

The crew began to move the debris to newly arrived dump trucks, clearing the area. Alphonse and Armstrong were specifically tasked with setting temporary supports in the damaged buildings so that the rest of the building would not collapse before repairs could be made. The overall task, though longer, went much quicker with Edward able to use his alchemy since his brother was no longer at risk of damage and Alphonse lending his limitless stamina and great strength. 

Alphonse and Armstrong got done with their task first, and went to help the others with bigger pieces of rubble. After a few minutes of helping, Alphonse saw his chance and walked away from the group while they were distracted by their hard work. The suit slipped over to a narrow alleyway and, after looking around to make sure the coast was clear, carefully opened his chest to let the chimera out. He did this trick a lot whenever he found a stray cat he couldn't keep. 

After a moment's hesitation, the creature quietly climbed out, standing up-right on her long hind legs as she turned to face him. She had her cloak on once more, hood down, and in her right sleeve-covered hand was the bag of pears she paid for earlier. There was now a large rip in the back of her cloak, haphazardly stitched up for the time being until a real patch job could be done. 

Alphonse realized that the chimera must have done it while he had been working with the others, most likely out of boredom, and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, "Sorry it took so long." 

The chimera tilted her head, as if puzzled, then patted his shoulder as a sign that he did no wrong in her eyes. She then nodded to him, gave a graceful bow in farewell, then pulled up her hood to hide her face before running off down the alleyway and disappearing around the corner. 

Al quickly closed his chest armor back up. After one final look back at where the chimera disappeared, the suit returned to help the others continue to clear the debris. His return did not go unnoticed, as Edward gave him a questioning gaze. Upon seeing his brother's unwavering expression, Alphonse made a sound like a sigh, "I was letting it out okay? It was in there with me..." 

Putting the pieces together, Ed stared at his brother. 

"YOU-" he stopped himself, looking around quickly before lowering his voice to a whisper, "You let it go? And lied to the colonel, and me, on top of that? Al, what were you thinking?" 

"Not here. I'll explain later..." Al's head lowered a bit but he did make a promise. "I promised her that I wouldn't tell anyone except you, Edward." 

" 'Her'?" Edward shook his head, "Alphonse, what if she just tricked you into letting her go? And with Scar and the humunculi still out there..." Edward couldn't finish due to his growing frustration. He was finding it very difficult to contain himself and not make a scene. 

Of all people, he thought his brother would understand the most about why they had to catch the chimera. 

A few minutes of uncomfortable silence went by as Edward tried to collect himself for the time being, Alphonse quietly watching him. 

Finally able to calm himself, Edward let out a frustrated sigh, giving his brother a small glare, "You better hope that you have a convincing explanation ready by the time we get back, little brother." 

"Okay..." was all Alphonse could say in response to the comment.


	3. Addressing Old Wounds

*Chapter 3*

Addressing Old Wounds

It took Colonel Mustang's crew all afternoon, and part of the evening, to get the rubble picked up and put into trucks to be taken away, and to add support structures to what remained intact of the two buildings so that they wouldn't completely collapse before repair crews could come in the morning.

Of all the things Ed had though he would be doing that day, what had happened wasn't one of them. It never crossed his mind that he would be chasing a mysterious chimera all through the city, misfire his alchemy and make two buildings fall on his brother, and have to deal with the strange attachment Alphonse had to the chimera as if it were one of the stray kittens the armor usually found.

He wouldn't be surprised if when Alphonse was restored, he would open up a pet shop with all the stray cats he would find in town. Ed shook his head of that stray thought, getting his mind back on the subject of the chimera as he and his brother walked down the street, heading for their residence for the evening. Once there, Edward was going to have Alphonse explain himself.

Alphonse had been quiet for most of the rest day after their last conversation, aside from checking on his brother now and then to make sure he was alright with lifting certain things or asking the Colonel what else he could help with. The armor's thoughts were running through everything that happened with Tucker, Nina, and Alexander, having been triggered by what the chimera had told him. Unable to stop himself, his mind went into the past, trying to see once more if there had been any warning signs at all...anything that hinted at the dark side of the Sewing Life Alchemist….anything that could have prompted him and his brother to act sooner.

Shou Tucker, if anything before that fateful day, was what anyone expected a dad to be. Kind, caring, content, even if a little tired and stressed because of his job and his duty as a single-parent.

His four-year-old, brunette-haired daughter, Nina, was one of the most special people that the brothers had ever known. She seemed to always brighten up one's day with her smile, and loved to play with Alphonse while Edward studied for his State alchemist exams. She had a beautiful, simple innocence that always seemed to renew Ed and Al, even after her mother disappeared two years before they had met.

Ever by her side was her very large and very friendly white dog, Alexander, who loved to pounce on the brothers in greeting, especially Edward, whenever they stopped by to visit Nina. One could describe him as a colossal puppy with the brain of a child, very smart and very playful for a dog, truly one-of-a-kind. Many an afternoon would find the four friends hanging out together, talking and playing games under a clear sky.

Those were some of Alphonse fondest memories, and he would never deny it even under torture.

But, as with all good memories, the sad memories of Nina returned. The world had shattered the day they had found Shou Tucker smiling with triumphant satisfaction over the vile deed he had done to his own daughter...and as they realized soon after, what he had done to his own wife those two years before. He had combined Nina and Alexander into one creature, a chimera, calling it his most perfect creation.

Shou Tucker had turned from loving, hard-working single parent to a heartless, insane scientist practically overnight. There was no way that Edward or Alphonse could have known in time, the wretched man had been very careful up until that day. And the fact that he had seemed so cheerful the whole time made the situation worse, only caring about a badge and a title that would last for two years, blind to the evil he had done to his own loved ones.

The creaking of metal was easily heard as Alphonse tightened his fists at these memories. From that day onwards, the Elric brothers considered combining animals and humans to be the most twisted kind of Alchemy there was...it was just purely evil.

But what kind of animal combination made something like the creature he saw today? They had been told that Shou Tucker was executed for his crimes, so that left him out. Who was twisted enough to create a chimera so blended that nothing was recognizable? And who was the poor soul that became the victim trapped within that mutilated body? What if…..

"Al?" came Ed's voice, bringing him out of his thoughts. He realized his fists were audibly shaking, the reason why Edward was now looking at him as they walked.

"Sorry...I was just..." He looked away for a moment to collect himself before continuing. He figured at least this was something Ed would understand, "...remembering Nina and Alexander..."

Edward's eyes seemed to flicker with an inner flame. Alphonse knew that his brother took it a lot harder than he did, having nearly beaten Tucker to death in his despairing fury upon realizing his crimes that fateful day. Al had only stopped him just in the nick of time with the transmuted Nina's help. Even after all this time, the murderous hatred was still there.

"She would have almost been 6 by now..." Edward looked down, his voice unnervingly level.

The sun was giving off its last rays of light when the two came to the end of their long walk, standing in front of the door to their shared military-issued apartment. Edward unlocked the door and let Alphonse enter first before closing and relocking the door behind him. The suit of armor immediately went about turning on a couple lamps to light up the darkening room before turning to look at his approaching brother, unable to keep in his news any longer, "Ed...that chimera…She said she knew them."

"What are you talking about?" questioned Edward in a serious tone.

"When I was trapped under the rubble with the chimera, she was somehow able to talk to me through my seal," answered Alphonse, "She told me that she knew Nina and Alexander."

Not waiting for a response, Alphonse then went on to tell his brother everything the chimera had told him. After he finished speaking, the metal titan took several slow steps back in preparation for his brother's reaction.

Still standing in the middle of their shared room, Edward was very silent, his bangs casting deep shadows over his face in the seemingly dim lamp light.

"What a sick joke..."

Tear drops fell to the ground between the blonde's feet. Each one was filled with despair, rage, torment…the same emotions as the tears he shed almost two years ago after seeing the blood-soaked alleyway.

"Brother?" Alphonse's voice was very small. The metal armor straightened up at Edward's sudden fiery glare.

"That thing was lying to you, Alphonse," Ed growled, his fists clenching, "There is no way that it could have done what it did with Nina in the time between when we last saw her alive and when we found…" his voice became darker," …when we found what was left of her. And Scar…" Edward practically spat out the name, knowing he was the one responsible for turning Nina into a charred stain on a wall, "Scar isn't stupid enough to mistake a mutt for a chimera! There are too many flaws, too many factors! It was a lie!"

"But Brother, she was nice to me!" the suit took a step forward, the voice inside sounded meek in comparison to Edward's, "Even after what we did to her, she comforted me in the dark and kept me company. I was even somehow able to feel the sensation of her hand in mine. She was nice to me, Ed."

"That chimera tricked you, Al! It played you so it could escape!...Nina's DEAD, AL!" Edward shouted, no longer listening to his brother's words. The tears were now rivers down his cheeks and his shoulders trembled with withheld sobs. The fire in his eyes drowned under his tears, leaving them empty.

"Brother, please..." knowing that the teen's anger was quelled for now, Alphonse went to Edward and put a hand on his shoulder, the glowing lights in the armor's eyes growing soft, "How else would she know everything that happened? Those files were sealed, and burned thanks to Mustang...I can understand the hesitation...but I don't think we should just walk away from this. Even if it is a trap, wouldn't that be good too? We were looking for the homunculi, or anyone connected to them anyway."

"I wouldn't be surprised if that thing turned out to be Envy in disguise to bait us..." muttered Edward in a low voice. The news was taking its toll on him, in every sense of the word.

For the first time in a long time, Edward fell against his brother's metal body, his arms wrapped around the armor's waistline in a tired hug.

"I guess we'll find out tomorrow..." Al replied quietly, putting an arm around his brother in comfort, it had been a rather trying day for them both. The glow of light in the armor's eyes disappears as it lowers its head.

The two stand there for a while in silence, taking in each other's comfort.

"...I miss her Ed... I miss Nina..." Al whimpered.

Ed sighed, burying his face a little more into the armor to hide it, "I miss her too, little brother..."

Outside their window, out of sight, the cloaked chimera had been listening. She had followed the brothers to their abode to spy on them, wanting to make sure that the giant suit of armor had been telling the truth. Her suspicions were cast aside and forgotten upon all she had just heard. Her glowing yellow eyes turned black and her head lowered, deep in thought.

She was long gone by the time Edward goes to the window to close the curtain, the lights in their room extinguished, and he and Al turned in for the night.


End file.
